Upper Darby man charged in fatal July 4th hit-and-run (With Video)

By VINCE SULLIVAN

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

SPRINGFIELD -- A 29-year-old Upper Darby man stood quivering in a district courtroom Monday evening, awaiting a preliminary arraignment on charges that he ran down Thomas Quercetti on State Road last summer, hours after the victim's family said their final goodbyes at his funeral. Quercetti, 28, of Upper Chichester, never regained consciousness after the hit-and-run accident and died last week after being removed from life support.

Pacurie Huynh, of the 100 block of Ardsley Road, is being held on charges of accidents involving death and failure to provide information and render aid. District Judge Anthony Scanlon set bail at $500,000 cash.

"I want to apologize to the family," Huynh said at the conclusion of his arraignment. "I was scared when it happened."

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan announced the arrest at a Monday afternoon press conference, crediting the resolution of the case to the dogged work of Springfield detective Daniel McNeely, colleagues in the D.A.'s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"This is an example of the exemplary police work here in Springfield," Whelan said. "Since July 4, the Springfield Township Police Department has been working diligently."

Investigators recovered small pieces of a headlamp from the vehicle that struck Quercetti as he walked along North State Road at about 3 a.m. on July 4, 2012. With that little bit of physical evidence, police worked for months to charge the man they believe was behind the wheel.

The shards of plastic were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's laboratory at Quantico, Va., where the year, make and model of the vehicle were determined. The FBI concluded in January that the pieces came from a headlamp manufactured by North American Lighting for use in the Toyota 4Runner from the model years 2010 to 2012.

From there, police identified the regional distribution hub for the headlamps and tracked a shipment of the lights to a dealership in Conshohocken, and then found an auto body shop in Southwest Philadelphia that purchased one on July 5, 2012. Detectives questioned the shop owner, who on Feb. 14 told them that a man brought a 2012 Toyota 4Runner to his business that day requesting an estimate for damage to the front bumper, grill, passenger side headlamp, hood and windshield, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The shop owner later identified Huynh in a photo array as the owner of the vehicle, who paid for the $7,800 in repairs with cash.

"Finally today, we were able to locate the individual and the vehicle involved in this incident," Whelan said. "It's just coincidental that today is the day Tommy was buried. Unfortunately, Tommy will never be able to face him."

Making an arrest after such an arduous and technical investigation was a testament to the tireless work of the detectives involved, Whelan said.

"Without them being persistent, without them being dedicated, we wouldn't have made this arrest," he said. "They started with just a fragment of glass."

Whelan declined to comment on any statements Huynh made while in police custody Monday. He calls the evidence against the suspect "circumstantial," but is confident that it is enough to convict him. The D.A. said the charges carry a minimum mandatory sentence of one year in jail, but his office may seek the maximum sentence of seven years.

The Quercetti family was made aware of Huynh's arrest following the funeral service at Ss. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple Monday afternoon, though no family members were present for the press conference or the court proceedings.

"They've been through a lot," Whelan said. "Tommy was very special to them."

Huynh is scheduled to appear before Judge Scanlon for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, March 7.